Aurora
by Aki-rain
Summary: Even though the village has extra protection from a mountain range and a powerful guardian deity, neither of these can protect it from the unsettling forces and emotions that stir within it as autumn falls into winter. Loosely inspired by the Luka song "Aurora" and a brief dream that I had once.
1. Awakening

Morning had not yet disturbed the frozen darkness. Though dawn dripped over the mountains' edge, leaving tiny scintillating sparks on the white canopy of snow, the air remained heavy with cold. In the silence of night, the blanket shifted, and as a bright body of white emerged from the powder-covered rock, snow dust brushed off its width and dissolved in the iced snow below. A pair of long, clawed membranes – wings – folded up at an angle out of the newly erased cover, stretched, and then beat downward, the white body disappearing in a flash of movement and leaving a layer of untouched ice where it previously had been.

That wingbeat had summoned dawn, and with a gust to break the deathly stillness, warmly colored light poured over the mountain's point like fire. The soft, sudden light reflected blindingly off the snow in a burst of orange, yellow and pink, and then once again everything was calm, exposed and warming to the daily ritual of dawn.

A young girl, seemingly not yet of adult age, stood at a precipice of ice and rock as if she was orchestrating it all, her feet clutching the edge with the dexterous skill of a reptile. She fearlessly, comfortably faced the open edge as the dropoff gave way to a smooth descending slope, and then, almost too far to see for human eyes, gentle lowlands in which a village, dominated by a relatively impressive castle, was cradled in the unforgiving environment of the mountain range.

The girl paused for a moment more, the colors of dawn flowing into her hair and lithe body. Nothing had yet moved in the distant town. Her sweeping gaze halted at the sight of something sparkling below, off to the side and just within her view, and with a movement almost like an instinctive reaction, she skittered toward it, her toes seeking out holds on the slope to cling to protection from a fatal fall down the icy cliff.

She stopped in the shadow of the mountain's peak, within a step of the attractively shining object. Oblivious to the unforgiving cold, she knelt down, trusting her bare knees in the snow, and reached for the object, sifting for it and finally dropping it into the cup of her left hand. She flinched at the hard impact, but then returned to staring at the round object. Its color was unlike that of the snow, and the tepid dawn light gave it a luminous golden appearance. She had seen humans handle these frequently, but she figured they were so small that they were often accidentally dropped.

Around it, the loose snow had been disturbed, and the girl's blue eyes trailed down the clumsily-made path of snow. It couldn't have been broken the day before: it would have been covered by the overnight dusting of snow. Like that of an alarmed prey animal, the girl's heart began to pound, and just before scurrying up the slope to a safe vantage point, she slipped the coin into a pocket secured onto the white garment around her hips.

Scaling the slope to a higher place and following the fresh trail was relatively simple. Within a few minutes the girl could hear muffled sounds, and the heavy footsteps were growing newer on the path. By their shape and size, the prints were probably from one of the horses that the people in the village used for transportation. Just to be safe, the girl ascended a bit more so that she was less visible from the flat trail below and started watching for movement. She had followed the trail accurately: a human was shifting around and mumbling to himself on the level below, with the horse held a pace or two behind him. The girl watched for a moment, noting his troubled voice and how he glanced around, searching for something nearby. The horse was decorated, and the long-haired man wore equally flamboyant clothing. The girl narrowed her eyes, thinking… Usually only people in less expensive clothing would come through this pass. What would bring one of the more wealthy people here? It definitely wasn't a venture of trade: this was not one of those stocky horses that traveled a long way pulling and carrying things. Was there some sort of threat in the village that would drive its people to the mountain? The girl only watched for a moment more. If her land and home were vulnerable to some evil force, she would have to take care of it. Her bare feet skidded on the snow for only an instant, and then she took off around the path and down the slope of the mountain – still out of sight of the human – toward the waking village at the mountain's base.

She had to make the trip quick to stay ahead of the man, but she had two advantages: the icy, rough terrain would slow down any horse trying to traverse it, and the tough trees that grew near the lower part of the mountain would hide her from view. Though she might not be able to blend in as well once she reached the village, she would deal with that when it happened. Right now she had to consider what might bring one of the richer men out, and admittedly, she was curious about the shiny object, too. Perhaps she could find more of those.

The terrain shifted to warmer soil and plants beneath her sensitive feet, but she didn't slow down in her flight until she had crossed the vast plain and reached the border of the village.

Surprisingly, the guard at the entrance was not intense, and when the men in armor saw that she couldn't possibly be carrying anything in her empty hands and light clothing, she passed under a decorative stone arch into a shining crowd of people and small buildings. This was not like other places, where the poorer citizens dwelled in the sprawl of the edge of the village. With the prosperous, clean soil, the cool air and the protection from the mountain, the organized city reached up to its borders and touched them lightly. The fluid crowd of people did not seem to notice when the girl merged into them. Whenever she could catch a glimpse through a gap in the crowd, the girl gazed at the shops that had been erected in a rush to take advantage of the last of the warm weather. She drifted toward one side where the early-waking people did not walk as closely and slowed in her exploration, but none of the craft from the varied shops caught her attention. The people on the other side of the shops seemed to stare at her, but the girl's awareness of their presence slowly faded as the bright colors of the strange village drew her in.


	2. Colors

"Miku!"

Gakupo raced up to her with an accusing shout, though that "race" was impeded by the care he had to take with his long robe-like clothing. Gakupo glared intensely at her from a close proximity, though that intensity was more from worry than anything else. Knowing that Gakupo wasn't really angry, Miku's expression remained innocently unconcerned.

"I looked all over out there for you," Gakupo hissed, thrusting his arm in the direction of the mountain, "and you were here the whole time? You need to stay where you can be kept track of!"

Even at Gakupo's frustration, the smile stuck on Miku's face. That was what annoyed him most about her. Thankfully he wasn't the one who had to watch over her most of the time, though he was stuck with the unfortunate job of keeping her under control in the mornings and evenings.

"You need some outside time anyway," she chimed bluntly, the smile extending across her face boldly.

This only caused Gakupo's anger to spike, but in spite of it, he found himself bursting with laughter, forgetting almost completely about why he was worried to begin with. "Okay, you need to go get ready," he told her calmly, nudging her in the direction of the castle standing at the center of the village. Miku nodded to him deeply and then hustled off, light on her feet as if she had never been subject to the rebuke. As she left, Gakupo's irritation evaporated, and he stood absently for a moment before moving again. He walked as if the interruption had never occurred, with a relaxed gait, calmly gazing over the drifting people and the transient shops that had been previously set up to embrace the prosperous summer. In the dawn's indirect light, the town seemed to him to shimmer with energy and warmth, if only for just a moment. The brief instant of respite faded, and the murmuring sounds of voices and footsteps returned to cloud Gakupo's mind. The people floating along the straight path in increasing number returned to a homogeneous appearance, every now and then overlapping in a brief moment of confusion. Eventually the whole mosaic became a static page of gray, and Gakupo's eyes shifted to the various items displayed enthusiastically at the shop fronts. Some of them were beautifully crafted objects of various purposes, and the others sparkled with an otherwordly radiance, most likely only on display and above the wealth of most of the people walking around. Curiously, Gakupo approached a covered stand showing the latter, fascinated by the shine of various colors – and the hawklike stare of the shopkeeper. Gakupo took a step back and looked all around at how the jewels, hit by the angular light of the sun, seemed to generate their own light, reflecting myriad colors on the surrounding surfaces as if Gakupo was enclosed in a kaleidoscope. Points of every color scintillated, and a shade of deep blue jumped out at Gakupo so hard, he almost flinched. He blinked, and returning from his trance in the colors, he realized that the blue was not a reflection from the polished stones, but the vivid eyes of a curious girl.

The girl stared at him for a moment, as if by looking at her he had breached something, but then her intense focus shifted back to the precious stones proudly displayed at the shop front. The fascination in her eyes was palpable, and Gakupo almost felt fascinated as well; the emotion was nearly overwhelming. Her drifting eyes locked onto a glittering purple stone, and she seemed to focus so hard that the stone might shatter before her eyes. The purple danced in her eyes for just a moment. Then she looked to the man across the table, and broke the silence. "I want this one."

"Only if you have the money to pay for it." Though the man's tone was a bit defensive, he smiled warmly, as if trying to be polite to a foreigner. And he probably was; even one glance at the girl told Gakupo that she couldn't be from the village. But at the same time, it was hard to believe that anyone could endure a long trek over the mountain in such light clothing as hers.

The girl looked disgruntled for a second, as if she had not been expecting to pay. However, then recognition came over her face, and she slipped her fingers into a pocket tied around her hips. Slowly, as if it was not something to be seen, she drew a shining coin out of the pocket, staring at it for a while as if she wasn't sure whether she wanted to give it up. However, her gaze switched to the purple gem embedded in the silver necklace, and she dropped the coin with a clatter and a sparkle onto the table. Only just as the man was beginning to reach for the coin, she cradled the necklace in her hands and lifted it gently. She gazed at it for a moment, turning it over in her hands and watching how the sunlight and color from the stones reflected off the many polished facets. Then she slipped it over her head and onto her shoulders, pulling her hair through it in a cascade of radiant pink.

Only when she glanced at him again did Gakupo realize that he had been staring at her the entire time. It was a pointed glance, yet curious, as a child might look at something new to her that she didn't quite understand. Although Gakupo was unsure of her status, or even of whether she would understand him, he remained polite and bowed lightly to her. "Good morning. You're from elsewhere, aren't you?"

She blinked at his diplomacy, only furthering his idea that she was a foreigner, and in spite of her delicate appearance, her words were as sharp as her gaze. "Yes, I am."

At first, Gakupo thought she would say something else, and try to start a conversation about trade, but her lips remained closed, and silence penetrated the space between their words. In spite of the warm morning sun, a cold wind blew from the direction of the mountain, and the girl didn't shiver at all even though her limbs and midsection were largely exposed. The long white fabric draped around her arms, hips and shoulders fluttered and billowed in the gust, and as the wind came to rest, she began walking, though she stared at him intentionally and drew him along to follow.

Even with such a strong appearance of intention, she said nothing. Shops passed by as the sun continued to rise, and the silence of the girl was almost creepy. Gakupo had to say something, _anything_ to break the silence, though he tried to keep his tone light as not to reveal his uneasiness. "What's your name?"

The girl came to a halt, as if she was unable to walk and think at the same time. It was a few long seconds before her answer, only increasing Gakupo's discomfort. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything… The murmuring of people and footsteps seemed to melt away. Finally, she answered, in somewhat of an odd tone: "Luka." She didn't even turn toward him as she said it. The name hung in the air for a moment, but then her entire body twitched, and her attention snapped to something to the side. She stood that way for a moment like an egret about to take flight, then she eagerly paced toward a shop from which, Gakupo found, warmth and the rich smell of food wafted.

For a moment, Gakupo debated over whether to followher. Though the girl had the composure and the voice of an adult, quite clearly she had the curiosity and attention span of a child. He couldn't discern her age, though she could probably take care of herself… but eventually a foreigner running all over through the town might become his responsibility anyway. Reluctantly, as if forced to keep track of an unruly youngster, he trailed after Luka, slowing to a stop behind her as she gawked at the stand selling all kinds of fresh bread, which was set up to tend to the many people in the bustling market, even though there were few outsiders visiting. And indeed, the scent was pleasurable… no wonder Luka had been drawn to it like an animal. Gakupo could hardly resist buying something, even though this stand wasn't unusual to him. As he leaned over Luka's shoulder to see the table, he brushed his light purple bangs out of his face. Luka was already hyper-focused on the food on display, and her gaze stopped on a loaf already cut in half. Perhaps it looked more manageable to her.

Blinking to himself, Gakupo realized that he hadn't had anything to eat yet that morning. He had been so distracted with finding Miku not in her usual place and afraid that she had perished in the frigid mountains that he had entirely forgotten his hunger. At the thought that he might actually have something normal happen in his routine, Gakupo talked with the salesman as if Luka wasn't even there, retreating with the half-loaf of bread to a small area of grass where he could rest in the warm sunlight. However, a bit to his surprise and frustration, Luka had tenaciously followed him, standing a few paces away from him and staring at him accusingly as if she was expecting him to take care of her for the entire day. For a moment, Gakupo stared back, unsure of how to deal with this relentless follower.

This stare-down was the first time that Gakupo could really get an idea of what the girl looked like, and perhaps that would give him a hint as to where she had come from and why. In the direct sunlight that was becoming more characteristic of day than morning, she almost appeared a mirage, as if she didn't quite belong in this world. Indeed, the intensity in emotion and color of her eyes was almost unearthly – they seemed to possess the depth of the daytime sky, and the extravagant jewelry she wore on her head, wrists and ankles almost had the appearance of the golden sun itself. Conversely, her hair was very oddly colored, and flowed like the pink dye of clouds at sunset. Her clothing, though sparing, also reflected a life of fortune, carefully woven from an elegant white material like silk. Staring at her standing with impeccable balance, Gakupo got the impression that she originated from some mystic desert community far away, though there was none in the proximity of the mountain ranges around the village.

For one with such childish face and behavior, she had a surprisingly mature figure, and her steps toward Gakupo had the intent of a deliberate and confident adult. Finally, in the span of those few seconds, Gakupo came up with something that might rid him of responsibility over this horribly lost foreigner. "What brings you to come all the way here?"

"Investigation," she replied in a voice that was definitely not that of a child, "just to see things." She held the silver necklace that she had acquired in her delicate hands, as if she had been talking to it; and then she glanced up at him, blinked with intensity as if realizing something, then returned to gazing at the amethyst embedded in the necklace. After a moment, she seemed to recall her original intentions and dropped to her knees in front of Gakupo, focusing all her attention on the bread he was holding from her.

Gakupo rolled his eyes, breaking off a section for her and then standing up. Though he knew the importance of being diplomatic to foreigners, this one was clearly here for no particular aim. "I'm guessing you need nothing from me, then," he sighed, beginning to walk off to find somewhere to retreat without having to worry about watching over someone rivaling even Miku in both energy and persistent dependence.

He froze. A brightly colored shape appeared in front of him. He blinked, absorbing the situation. It was as if the world had read his thoughts. "Miku? Where did you come from?"

The voice that answered him was not that of a young girl. "She told me about how you worried so much, I figured we couldn't go anywhere without telling you or you would panic." Gakupo glanced up to see Meiko trailing calmly behind Miku, in her full light-colored armor. In contrast, Miku seemed joyful if anything and not at all prepared for work with the sword. Meiko stopped and took a relaxed stance. "We were going outside to get some training in the field." At seeing Gakupo's exasperated expression, she smiled, only slightly, but humorously.

"Miku, you don't have to overdramatize everything I say." Gakupo's voice started as a groan, but it lapsed into a chuckle that one might expect would come from someone experiencing his sister's antics for the millionth time.

Though Miku grew red-faced and retored "I'm not overdramatizing!" stubbornly, Gakupo ignored her and couldn't help but laugh.

Meiko's eyes had been wandering, and her calmly confident gaze shifted to one of curiosity as she glanced at Luka, who had retreated behind Gakupo's tall frame but was watching the other two girls with a stare as intent as a predator's. Meiko blinked, and broke into the conversation that was very much like a sibling fight. "Who's this one?" she asked lightly, watching Luka for a moment more and then glancing back to Gakupo questioningly.

Gakupo's chuckle was more nervous this time; Meiko's gaze, even though it was innocently relaxed, had an inherent power in it that bored into him with some hidden force. Meeting her with words was almost worse than doing so at the point of a sword. "I'm not completely sure, either," he began jokingly in the hope that soe of his tension would evaporate. "She says she's a foreigner who came here just to see things…"

"It's hard to believe she came all this way." Meiko's tone truly took on an element of softness to it. She sounded as if she would ask further questions, but avoided doing so and left some unsaid explanation hanging in the air among them. "Make sure you take care of her." As if nothing had happened, she continued along the wide main path out of the village. Miku suddenly noticed that she was moving and flinched, her eyes lingering on Luka for just as econd more as she trailed off behind Meiko and that carefree eagerness surfaced in her again.

To Gakupo, it was like a storm had torn through and struck him with illuminating lightning. He blinked, recovering from the responsibility that Meiko seemed to have thrust on him. Great. Just when he thought he had been free of "taking care of her," this foreigner… he thought Luka would say something in response to Mieko, but she remained expectantly silent, only worsening the feeling of responsibility that was throwing Gakupo off balance. At a loss of what else to do, he offered, trying to appear intentional, "Do you want to come see some things closer to the castle? It's very pretty and refined there."

At first, he dreaded that he had made an exposing, dangerous mistake, but one glance at Luka's graceful but fragile and unarmed appearance reminded him that she probably couldn't do anything to overpower him in any way, even if she wanted to. Nor could she transfer information, unless she happened to be some mystical being who could speak with birds and animals… which, of course, she wasn't.

Luka calmly nodded in response, as if this wasn't some amazing experience that required special permission to avoid suspicion. As Gakupo watched her, the image of Meiko's deeply intentional gaze persisted in his mind, and like he would avoid the disapproval of a parent, he started forward in the direction from which Meiko and Miku had just come. "This way." He was still for a moment, and Luka rushed after him, and then he resumed at a quick pase with which she effortlessly kept up. While the length of his stride was contained in his comfortable robes, Luka took quick, deliberate steps as if she knew exactly where they were going. Every few minutes, she nibbled on the bread she had received, but seemed to have forgotten her hunger in the anticipation of sightseeing. As the two drew gradually closer to the palace, the buildings around them grew taller, and luxuriously planted trees and tiny gardens were interspersed in the monotony of stone and brick structures. Luka's gaze wandered and her head turned in various directions, but somehow she stayed almost perfectly behind Gakupo, who eventually gave up on looking back to make sure she hadn't wandered off or fallen behind.

Eventually they passed between towering, blue stonewalls, and Luka's neck arched fully in her desperation to take in the entire structure. Even so, she avoided Gakupo when he slowed down slightly, and came to an overwhelmed stop a bit in front of him. They were surrounded by plantings of flowers and various conservatively small but carefully crafted buildings, but the pathways were clear and seemed to lead everywhere at once with extreme organization. While Gakupo was relaxing in the familiarly calm environment, Luka was stunned as she took in the beautifully constructed and grown scenery and made a few revolutions just to breathe in the atmosphere of it all. Though Gakupo was still a bit annoyed that he had to watch her, even more so now that she could easily ruin something, he was at least happy that he could help fulfill her purpose for visiting in such a way that she enjoyed.

Few people passed by as the morning went on, and Luka appeared entirely immersed in staring at everything. They slowly approached the center of the expansive gardens, but halted when a small white cat appeared at a cross in the path. Luka watched the cat intensely, and lowered herself to the ground as if to get a closer look at it. Gakupo immediately recognized the cat, and as it stared at him, it approached quickly, and he also took a sitting position to allow the small cat to greet him. The cat pawed at him delicately as if it had been trained to avoid clawing at his clothes, and he stroked its head with a relaxed hand, at which it stopped batting at him and purred subtly.

"Can I hold it?" Luka requested suddenly, and both Gakupo and the cat turned their heads to her. The cat watched her calmly and its tail stirred the air; obviously the cat wasn't averted to that idea.

Gakupo nodded gently, and he took a moment to support the cat in his hands. Luka's hold on the cat was surprisingly confident, and it lay in her arms without protest as if she had known the cat as long as Gakupo had. She cradled the soft white bundle of warm fluff with a mixture of the protection of a mother and childlike fascination, gently petting its head and neck and watching its tail swing back and forth. It stared back at her, fitted into the curve of her chest and lying perfectly still except for its tail and the occasional ear-twitch in response to the movement of her fingers.

Watching silently, Gakupo wondered if cats were particularly important to her in some way. Something made a noise, capturing the group's attention, and before Luka could react, the cat slid out of her grasp and dashed off in the other direction. She stared after it and then stood up understandingly, waiting for Gakupo to adjust to the sudden change. He stood more slowly, and explained, "That's one of the cats we keep around to deal with pests. They just wander around." Luka nodded and walked off in the direction from which the cat had come, maybe hoping to find more. She was walking much more slowly than before, and Gakupo easily caught up to her. Somewhat frustratingly, she didn't seem to have the intention to leave anytime soon, so Gakupo would have to keep up this hospitality a little longer. He glanced down as her pace sped up slightly, watching as her bare feet repeatedly collided with the hard ground. "You aren't getting tired or anything?" he asked. "You must be used to walking around with nothing on your feet." That only intensified the question of where she had come from. It helped with the idea that she had walked such a long way, but unless she had lost some clothing or something on the journey, it was difficult to comprehend how she could have possibly survived a trek through the mountain pass without freezing to death.

"I am," she replied. It was always one of those simple answers with her, wasn't it? It only irritated Gakupo further. There had to be something she didn't want to say, or wasn't able to… maybe she just spoke a different language or something.

They emerged from within a walled path to a more open area where bushes of colorful flowers bordered a courtyard and the grass was well taken care of. Gakupo could clearly hear the chirping gossip of tiny birds hiding in the thick shrubs, right next to them, but just out of reach. Luka paused for a moment, but when the birds fell silent, she continued, the soft white fabric around her forearms billowing like wings, just like those tiny birds. Gakupo watched her for a moment as she seemed to melt into the nature of the place, fitting in perfectly as if she had been painted there in an artist's landscape. In the overhead sun, her hair even seemed to be of the same hue of paint as the deep pink flowers intermixed with other colors in the expansive garden.

She relaxed that way for a while as leaves from the trees watching over the garden flitted to the ground one by one, with time between as the young leaves clung to life on their branches. Luka took a step forward, and the leaves littered the ground like a sparse carpet, the trees forming a golden half-canopy with hints of brown and green variants.

Luka stopped again, having walked some good distance down the carpet, and something seemed to come over her at the sudden lack of movement. She was poised perfectly in the dappled shadow of a tree, but a gentle wind broke up those carefully placed outlines, then calmed again. Not a leaf lost its grip and fell to the cold autumnal ground. One of Luka's untarnished feet slid back slightly, and she turned her head over one narrow shoulder, her eyes a stimulating flash of blue on a canvas of warm greens and yellows and grays. "I've seen enough." Her voice broke the stillness of nature, and she strode toward Gakupo again with such a calm intensity that her steps appeared to slow down in time. "Thank you for bringing me here."

As she reached Gakupo's side, he turned around, and his tail of long violet hair followed him in the stillness. The world seemed to have lsot all its noise as they walked in a suffocating silence, the stillness exposing them like faceless figures in a painting. Their meander back to the huge gates seemed to take an eternity, but once they reached them, Gakupo felt like he had lost all memory of the past few hours. "Do you have somewhere to go?" Gakupo inquired as the noise of the village rolled back to htem. She couldn't go back in the mountains now, if a journey to the next town took a day even by horse, so she surely wasn't planning on doing that.

Luka continued a few steps in front of him, and when she didn't answer, Gakupo persisted. "Do you need anything before you go back?" He started after her, but as soon as his first step had landed on the ground, she looked back over her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine," she reassured him. After a moment, she faced him fully, examining him thoughtfully. She stared at him for what only felt like a long time, and then turned again to break the contact. "The coin was yours," she remarked as if coming to a realization. Without explaining, she faded into the distance mysteriously, as if she was taken in by some invisible cloak folding out from the horizon. At the sight of her back, Gakupo recalled the other time he had seen her from behind: at that colorful stand adorned with jewelry. The image like a kaleidoscope was fresh in his mind now, and in all the dizzying colors, he remembered wondering where she had gotten the money to buy something as luxurious as jewelry after coming so far from the last town. Was that what she meant…? That somehow, she had gotten a hold on his money? Maybe she did have magical abilities… he would have to keep an eye out for her.


End file.
